Bristol is a vibrant, young community, with many creatives in a number of sectors, such as the arts, science and technology. As part of this creativity, a group of individuals have created the “Bristol Pound” which is legal tender for local independent companies just within Bristol, to improve the community spirit and help to keep capital within the borders of Bristol.

The Bristol Pound was started in 2009 by a group of campaigners and financial activists in the wake of the financial crisis in 2008, with the sole purpose of creating a network of local businesses and individuals, who trade in the paper and digital currency to keep money circulating in Bristol. After the financial crisis, it became clear that the local economy was being drained by the national and international chains that were unwilling to invest when money was tight, causing the high street and local businesses to suffer as a result. This lead the team of campaigners to make a change, to empower the local Bristol economy, which meant introducing the Bristol Pound which can only be used within Bristol.

The currency has been very successful, being true to its creators in helping to build local independent business. Since its inception in 2009 over £5 million of Bristol Pounds have been used in Bristol, which represents over 80,000 transactions.

So how does the Bristol Pound work? As an individual, you can elect to have some of your salary being paid in Bristol Pound. This means you are taking an active decision to make sure some of the money you earn will be spent in local independent companies. As a local business, you can elect to receive Bristol Pound, so customers know you care about the local Bristol community and want to make sure money doesn't leave the city. These local business can spend these Bristol Pounds with their wholesalers or pay their business rates in the local currency. These payments are accepted by Bristol Council, which means individual can also pay their council taxes and local rates via Bristol Pound.

All in all what this means is the local community will help support their local economy by making sure no funds leave in times of global stress, something that happened in the financial crisis.